James Maddison

James Daniel Maddison (born 23 November 1996) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for club Tottenham Hotspur and the England national team.

Maddison began his career with Coventry City before joining Norwich City in 2016. He spent some of the 2016–17 season on loan at Scottish Premiership club Aberdeen. In his first season back at Norwich, Maddison was named in the Championship PFA Team of the Year and EFL Team of the Season. Maddison joined Leicester City in 2018 and won the FA Cup and FA Community Shield with the club in 2021. He signed for Tottenham Hotspur in 2023.

Maddison was capped by England at under-21 level from 2017 to 2019, and made his debut for the senior team in 2019. He was part of the England squad at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Early life
James Daniel Maddison was born on 23 November 1996 in Coventry, West Midlands, where he was raised. He has Irish ancestry through a grandparent.

Coventry City
Maddison joined Coventry City's youth team, and was included in the first-team squad in the 2013–14 season, though did not make an appearance. He made his first-team debut in August 2014, coming on as a substitute in a 2–1 defeat to Cardiff City in the 2013–14 League Cup. Maddison made his league debut, again as a substitute, in a 3–1 home loss against Bristol City and his first league start in the following game, against Oldham Athletic. He scored his first league goal in the game, with a free kick in the first half, as Coventry lost the game 4–1.

In November 2014, Maddison signed his first professional contract, lasting three-and-a-half years, but missed much of the remainder of the 2014–15 season after being sent off during a Boxing Day defeat to Doncaster Rovers and then picking up a back injury.

Norwich City
Maddison signed for Premier League club Norwich City on 1 February 2016 on a three-and-a-half-year contract for an undisclosed fee, but was immediately loaned back to Coventry City for the remainder of the 2015–16 season.

Maddison made his debut for Norwich on 23 August 2016 in a 2016–17 EFL Cup tie against his former team Coventry, recording two assists in a 6–1 home win. On 31 August 2016, Maddison was loaned to Scottish Premiership club Aberdeen for the first part of the 2016–17 season. He made his debut as a substitute against Inverness Caledonian Thistle, then started and scored in the next match in a 3–1 win against Dundee. He followed this with a last-minute winner against Rangers on 25 September. He made 17 appearances for Aberdeen, scoring two goals.

After returning from his loan at Aberdeen, Maddison made his first league appearance for Norwich on 17 April 2017 in a 2016–17 Championship match against Preston North End, coming on as a 79th-minute substitute and scoring the team's third goal in the second minute of stoppage time in a 3–1 away win. He signed a new four-year contract with Norwich in June. With the arrival of new coach Daniel Farke, Maddison was given regular starts in the team during the 2017–18 season. He was named as Norwich's Player of the Season at the end of the season, and was nominated for the EFL Championship Young Player of the Season award.

Leicester City


Maddison signed for Premier League club Leicester City on 20 June 2018 on a five-year contract for an undisclosed fee thought to be around £20 million. He scored his first goal in the Premier League on 18 August in a 2–0 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers. He later followed up his impressive start for the club with back-to-back Premier League goals, both from set-pieces, against AFC Bournemouth and Huddersfield Town, respectively.

His performances in his debut season saw him awarded Leicester City's Young Player of the Season.

On 29 July 2020, he agreed a new four-year contract with Leicester.

On 27 September 2020, Maddison scored from long range in a 5–2 win against Manchester City, a goal which was later voted as Premier League Goal of the Month.

On 11 April 2021, Maddison was one of three players dropped from Leicester's squad for the game against West Ham United after breaching COVID-19 protocols. On 15 May, he appeared as a substitute in the 67th minute of the 2021 FA Cup Final, as Leicester beat Chelsea 1–0 at Wembley Stadium.

Maddison was named Leicester City's Player of the Season for 2021–22. He top scored for the team with 18 goals in all competitions, in addition to registering 12 assists.

On 11 February 2023, Maddison captained Leicester for the first time in a 4–1 win over Tottenham Hotspur, a match in which he scored his team's second goal and assisted their fourth. He ended the 2022–23 season with ten goals and nine assists in the Premier League as Leicester were relegated to the Championship.

Tottenham Hotspur
On 28 June 2023, Maddison signed for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur on a five-year contract for an undisclosed fee. The transfer fee was reported to be £40 million. On 12 August, Maddison was appointed as vice-captain alongside Cristian Romero, with Son Heung-min as club captain. Maddison made his debut for Tottenham on 13 August in the team's opening match of the 2023–24 Premier League season, starting in an away match against Brentford. He scored his first goal for the club on 26 August in a 2–0 away win against Bournemouth. Registering one goal and two assists in his first three league matches for Tottenham, Maddison was named the Premier League's Player of the Month for August.

On 6 November 2023, Maddison was forced off with an ankle injury in a home match against Chelsea, which was expected to keep him on the sidelines until 2024. He returned from injury as a substitute in a 1–0 loss to Manchester City in the FA Cup.

International career
Maddison was included in an England under-21 squad in March 2016, but was unable to play due to injury. He received his first call-up to the England under-21 team in November 2017, and made his debut against Ukraine in a 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifier. He received his first call-up to the senior team in October 2018 for the UEFA Nations League matches against Croatia and Spain.

On 27 May 2019, Maddison was included in England's 23-man squad for the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship and scored his first goal for his country during a 3–3 draw with Croatia at the San Marino Stadium on 24 June.

Maddison withdrew from the senior squad in October 2019 due to illness. He was later seen visiting a casino, although his conduct was defended by club manager Brendan Rodgers. Maddison made his debut for England on 14 November when he came on for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the 56th minute of a 7–0 win over Montenegro in UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying.

After a three-year absence, Maddison was named in the 26-man England squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. However, he did not make an appearance in the tournament. He made his first start for England on 26 March 2023 in a UEFA Euro 2024 qualifier against Ukraine.

Maddison was selected for the provisional 33-man squad for UEFA Euro 2024, however, he was cut from the final 26-man squad. Maddison said the decision was "devastating", while admitting that he "had not been as fit as he had hoped" at the end of the season.

Personal life
Maddison and his partner, Kennedy Alexa, have a son who was born in July 2021.

Honours
Leicester City
 * FA Cup: 2020–21
 * FA Community Shield: 2021

Individual
 * EFL Young Player of the Month: January 2018
 * EFL Team of the Season: 2017–18
 * PFA Team of the Year: 2017–18 Championship
 * Norwich City Player of the Season: 2017–18
 * Premier League Goal of the Month: September 2020
 * Leicester City Player of the Year: 2021–22
 * Premier League Player of the Month: August 2023